CHAPTER SIX.
A WILD-GOOSE CHASE.
The doctor carefully opened the roll of skin upon the table, while Christurned the lamp up a little higher, keeping one eye upon his father'sactions the while and then scanning eagerly the plainly-seen marks whichpretty well covered the little guide.
For that it was evidently intended to be, so as to give future searchersan easy means of reaching the treasure that the unfortunate adventurerhad discovered.
All gazed down at the skin, which had been smoothed out, and for someminutes not a word was spoken. But it did not take long for the wholeof the party to come to the same conclusion, and it was this--
That the adventurer had taken great pains in the preparation of his mapfor another's benefit, in case he should not be able to seek for thetreasure himself, but that to make his chart available it neededsomething more.
Griggs was the first to give his feelings words, which expressed thethoughts of the rest exactly.
"This is all very well," he said, as he wrinkled his brow and scratchedhis head viciously, "and it's very nicely done for a man who seems tohave begun by making his own makeshift for paper, and then his own penand ink. What do you make this skin to be, doctor?"
"The nearest guess I can give is that it is the skin of a jack-rabbitthat has been pegged-out tightly and dried in the sun."
"Same here," said Griggs; "but what about the ink?"
"Ah, that looks like charcoal ground very fine, mixed with water andsome kind of tree gum, and painted on with a pointed piece of wood."
"That's just what I thought it might be," cried Griggs, "and a deal oftrouble the poor fellow has taken with it. Look here, neighbours, eastand west and north and south plain enough. What does he sayhere?--`Des--' Yes, that's right enough, and means desert. Plenty of ittoo. And what's here?--`No water.' Of course, and over and over again,`N.W.' That means no water, of course. Mountains under these stars.Plenty of 'em too. More desert, and then three stars set trianglefashion about what looks like a square box with some one's name on it."
"No," cried both boys together; "it's `temple.'"
"So it is, boys," cried Griggs, "and these dots all round it--I mean allsquare about it, must mean the city walls. Well, that's clear enough."
"Look there," cried Chris.
"Yes, I'm looking," said Griggs. "What is it?"
"That big W," said Chris. "That must mean water or well."
"Very likely, my boy," said the doctor.
"And these square bits must mean houses, I s'pose," continued Griggs."Well, it's a prettily-done, careful sort of map, made underdifficulties. Mountains here and mountains there, and all the restdesert. But he means whoever uses the map to go straight for the place,by sticking in all these little arrows right away from the north-eastcorner across the desert to the temple."
"Yes, that's the way to go, plainly enough," cried Bourne.
"That's what I thought, neighbour."
"Well, then, what are you finding fault about?" cried Wilton sharply."You talk as if you despised it."
"Oh no, not I, squire. It's a very pretty little map, and took the poorchap a long time to do; but it seems to me that it's no good at all."
"I don't understand you," said Wilton sharply. "Look here, he gives astarting-place marked with a big dot, and the little arrows go rightacross to the three mountains and the temple."
"That is how he described it to me," said the doctor.
"Just so, sir. That's how I understand it, neighbours; but what then?"
"Why, of course!" came in chorus, as every one at the table grasped thehitch that the American had seen.
"Ah, you all hit it now," said Griggs, laughing.
"I think I understand what you mean," said the doctor thoughtfully.
"So do I," came in chorus, and then Bourne said quickly--
"Suppose you speak out and say what you mean, Lee."
"It seems to me," said the doctor gravely, "that though this chart hasbeen prepared so carefully, and points out the trend of the deserts andmountains, and also where the gold-hills, the city, and the templestand, while the points of the compass are shown as well, it might be achart of any part of the country, a mere patch, or a territory of greatextent."
"That's so, doctor," interposed Griggs; "but you haven't quite hit ityet."
"No, but I was coming to your point directly. You mean that the mapgives us no hint of the direction in which the gold-hills lie."
"Now you've hit it right in the bull's-eye, doctor," cried Griggs."That's it. Say we made up our minds to go and look for it, startingfrom here, are we to begin north, south, or east? Couldn't go very farwest, because that would mean going straight out to sea."
"Of course--of course!" was chorused.
"But we could find the place, after all," cried Chris excitedly.
"How?" said Wilton.
"Mr Griggs can tell us which direction the poor old fellow was comingfrom."
"No, he can't," said the personage spoken of. "He was zig-zagging aboutall sorts of ways, and more than once after a stumble I saw him get uponhis legs and go back the same way he came, as if he was half blind."
"Oh!" cried Chris, in a disappointed tone.
"You meant, young squire, that if I could tell you the direction fromwhich he had come, all we should have to do would be to go right alonghis track till we saw the three mountains?"
"Yes, that is something like what I thought," said Chris, who feltdamped.
"Wouldn't work, youngster," cried Griggs. "Even if he had come on thelast day in a straight line that wouldn't help us about how he came onthe other days; and as to his trail--why, the poor old fellow had beenon the tramp for years. Look here, all of you; I'll give you anotherchance for a spec. I'll take five cents for my share. Who'll buy?Don't all speak at once. What, no one? Well, you are a poor lot! Onlyfive cents. Well, never mind; if you won't make yourselves rich it's nofault of mine. I'll keep my share myself in a goose-quill stopped up atthe end with wax--when I get it."
"I should very much have liked to go in search of that place," saidWilton, who hardly heard their American neighbour's words.
"And I too," said Bourne. "Setting aside the gold discovery, it wouldbe most interesting to visit the relics of the ancient city."
"I could do without seeing the old place," said Griggs dryly. "Dependupon it, you'd find it terribly out of repair. I should be dead on thegold. How do you feel, doctor?"
"I should like to explore the old place," he replied, "but I certainlyshould make a point of getting all the gold I could."
"Then why not try and find the spot?" cried Chris. "It must besomewhere south."
"Yes," cried Ned. "Oh, father, don't let's give up without a good tryto find it."
The doctor laughed at the boy's eagerness.
"Somewhere due south," he said; "a nice vague direction. Somewhere duesouth may mean anywhere between here and Cape Horn."
"No, no, father," cried Chris; "not so far as that. I haven't forgottenall my geography since I've been here, and I know that there are plentyof desert regions such as that poor fellow may have been wandering inbetween here and Panama."
"Hear, hear!" cried Griggs. "But give us one or two, squire."
Chris grew red and uncomfortable, but he caught his father's eye lookingkeenly at him, and he spoke out.
"I don't know about being exactly south," he said. "Perhaps some of theplaces lie east; but the old man might have been wandering in themountainous parts of Colorado or Lower California, or--or--"
"New Mexico," whispered Ned.
"Yes, New Mexico, or California, or perhaps have got to Mexico itself."
"Well done, our side!" cried Griggs, thumping the table. "Three cheersfor our own private professor of geography. To be sure, there's desertland in all those places, as I've learned myself from fellows who havebeen there. But what's Arizona done to be left out in the cold?"
"In the sun, you mean," cried Chri
s eagerly. "That's the hottest anddryest place of all of them."
"To be sure," said the doctor--"the arid zone."
"Dessay it's true," said Griggs. "I vote we go and see."
"Why not Lower California, or one of the other States?" said the doctordryly.
"To be sure, why not?" said Griggs, and the boys, who smelt change inthe air, thumped the table.
"Quiet, quiet, boys!" said the doctor sternly. "I'm afraid, neighbourGriggs, that your plantation would suffer a good deal during yourabsence on such a wild-goose chase."
"What! My plantation suffer?" cried Griggs, chuckling. "Oh, come,that's too good a joke, doctor! Suffer? Have you been round itlately?"
"Not for a year past," was the reply. "I've been too busy slaving overour own."
"Then you don't know. Why, my good neighbour, it's in nearly as bad acondition as that poor old fellow we have just buried."
"Have you tried to sell it to some immigrant?"
"Have I tried to swindle some poor fellow just come into the country?"cried Griggs sharply. "No, I haven't. I don't set up for being much ofa citizen, but, 'pon my word, doctor, I wouldn't be such a brute as toeven give it to a man on condition that he would live there and farm it.Your joint plantation here is bad enough, but my bit's ten timesworse."
"I join issue there," cried Wilton sharply; "it can't be."
"Oh, can't it!" cried the American. "You don't know what it's took outof me. Why, I'd have pitched the whole thing up a couple of years agoif it hadn't been for you three here."
"What had we to do with it?" said Bourne sharply.
"Everything. I used to see you folk and these boys plodding along,working like niggers, no matter how your crops turned out, and waitingpatiently for better times to come."
"Well, what of that?" said Wilton. "Of course we wanted to get on."
"So did I, squire, and seeing you all keep at it so when I wanted tochuck up, I pitched into myself and called him--this chap, 'ThanielGriggs, you know--all the idle, lazy scallywags and loafers I couldthink of, and made him--'Thaniel, you know--so ashamed of himself thathe worked harder than ever. `They've all cut their eye-teeth, Griggy,my boy,' I said, `and they wouldn't keep on if there wasn't some good tocome out of it by and by,' and after that I worked away. But now youall talk of giving up, and say you've proved that there's no good in theplace, what's the use of my niggering away by myself?"
"You'd sooner go on such a wild, harum-scarum search as this, eh?" saidthe doctor, looking at the tall, sun-burnt man grimly.
"To be sure I would. There'd be some fun and adventure in it."
"And risk."
"Well, yes, neighbour; I don't expect it would be all honey. There'd besome mustard and cayenne in it too."
"And danger of wasting your life as that poor fellow yonder did his."
"Some," said the American coolly. "You can't make fortunes without abit of a fight. I came here to this place to make mine, but there's nostuff here to make it of. If we should find the gold-hills now, thatwould be something like. The fortune's already made. All it wants isfor us to go and pack it up and bring it away."
"To find it first," said Ned's father bitterly.
"Nay, it's already found, parson. The poor old boy found it, and gavethe job over to the doctor here, along with those title-deeds."
"Which don't say where the land lies."
"Oh, never mind that. I boggled about it at first, and thought it was aregular blind lead. But I don't now. Amurrykee isn't such a big placeas all that comes to. There's the gold somewhere, and we've got somesort of a guide as well as the right to it. We're none of us so oldthat we can't afford to spend a few years, if it's necessary, in huntingthrough first one desert and then another. Can't you see what a chancewe shall have?"
"I must confess I do not," said the doctor.
"Well, I do, sir. We shall have those places all to ourselves.There'll be no one to complain of our making footmarks over theirgardens and strawberry-patches."
"What about the Indians, Mr Griggs?" asked Bourne.
"The Injun? Yes, there's the Injun, but we shouldn't go as one. Weshould be half-a-dozen, and if the 'foresaid Injun takes my advice he'llstop at home and leave me alone. I ain't got more pluck in me than mostfellows have, but though I called 'Thaniel Griggs all the lazy coons Icould lay my tongue to, I've a great respect for that young man.Selfish or not, I like him better than any fellow in this country, and Ishould no more mind drawing a straight bead on the savage who tried tokill him than I should mind putting my heel on a sleeping rattler's headwhile I drew my knife and 'capitated him. There, now."
"Self-preservation's the first law of nature, friend Griggs," saidWilton.
"Is it, now?" replied the American. "Then all I can say is that numbertwo and all the rest of her laws have got to be very good ones if theycome up to number first, sir. Oh, I shouldn't stop for no Injuns if Imade up my mind to go, sirree. I should chance that, practise up myshooting, and never go a step without having my rifle charged in bothbarrels."
"But can't you see that the chances are very much against any onefinding this place?"
"No, sir. It'll be a tight job, no doubt; but what one man could do,going without the slightest idee where to go nor what there was to find,surely half-a-dozen of us, counting the young nippers in, could do,knowing that the gold's there waiting for us, and that we've only got tofind the right spot."
"Only!" said Bourne sadly.
"Yes, sir, only. There, if I talk much more I shall want to go backhome to see if there is one ripe orange on my plantation that I cansuck. So I'll just put my opinions down straight. Those is them--Isay, Squire Ned, that's bad grammar, ain't it?"
"Horrible," replied the boy, laughing.
"Never mind; you understood it. Look here, gentlemen, there's a finechance here for a fortune, and I say, have a try for it, and take mewith you to help, share and share alike. I'll work with you, fight foryou, and share all the trouble like a man. It's worth the try, and Ithink so much of it that if you say downright that you won't go I shallsee if I can find a trusty mate, and go myself. There, that's all."
Griggs threw himself back on his seat so as to get his back squareagainst the wall, tilting the stool on two legs, and looked sharplyround the table, and then at Wilton, who had risen and come round to himto offer his hand.
The American looked at the long brown fingers and then up in theirowner's face.
"What's that for?" he said. "Want me to shake, and then go home,because you're tired of me?"
"No," cried Wilton fiercely. "It's for you to give me yours. I sayyou're right, Griggs. The place must be found, and I'll go with you towork and fight, and through thick and thin, for I believe in you as atrue man. I'll go with you, and we'll find the treasure or come back,worn out, to die."
"Not we!" cried the American, seizing Wilton's hand in his strong grip."I'm with you, to stick to you, Mister Wilton, like a brother man. I'mready to start with you to-morrow, if you like, if the doctor here willhand over that dockyment.--Any more going on?"
The two boys sprang to their feet and looked at their fathers, who spokeas one man. "Sit down, boys!" they cried.
"Why, you rash young reprobate," cried the doctor. "Do you mean to tellme that you'd go off on this mad journey without asking my leave?"
"No, father, of course not. Ned wouldn't either without Mr Bourne'sconsent; but I want to go with old Griggs, who has always been such agood fellow to us, and I feel sure you and Mr Bourne both mean to gotoo."
"What makes you say that, sir?" cried the doctor sternly.
"Oh, first because Mr Wilton's going, and you'd neither of you like himto go without you."
"Any other reason, sir?"
"Yes, father. It seems to me that as we are going away to make a freshstart, it would be much better to go in search of this treasure than tobe sailing straight back to England, not knowing what we should do whenwe got there."
"Oh,
that's what you think, is it, sir?" said the doctor.--"By yourleave, Bourne!--Now, Master Ned, pray what do you think about it all?"
"Oh," cried the boy addressed, speaking to the doctor, but looking hardand searchingly in his father's face, "I want to go with Chris, ofcourse, and I think just the same as he does. Why, it would be grand,Mr Lee. We should have no end of adventures, and see the beautifulcountry."
"And the dismal desert. Why, you romantic young dreamer! You'll neversee a place south of here half so beautiful."
"But what's the good of its being beautiful if we can't live upon it?"
"Then you'd be glad to go?"
"Oh yes, sir," cried Ned.
"Humph! Well, Bourne, it seems then that you and I will have to go backto England empty and alone."
"No, you won't, father," said Chris quickly. "I shouldn't go withoutyou went too."
"And I shouldn't either, father," said Ned huskily, as he went and stoodbehind his father with his hands resting on Bourne's shoulders.
"Here, I wish you two young fellows had held your tongues," said Griggsroughly, "because it's like filling a man full of pleasure, and thenmaking a hole and letting it all out again. But it's all right, lads,and thankye all the same. No, you can't go away and leave your twodads; it wouldn't be right, and you couldn't expect to prosper if youdid. But I wish they'd think as we do, and say they'd go and chance it.Raally, doctor, and raally, Mr Bourne, I'd go to bed and sleep on it.P'r'aps you'd feel a bit different in the morning. What do you say?"
The doctor was silent for a few moments, gazing full in the American'sface, the latter receiving the look without blenching.
"Let me see, Mr Griggs," he said; "I've known you nearly four years,haven't I?"
"Four years, four months, doctor, and that's just as long as I've knownyou."
"Yes," said the doctor, at last. "Bourne, what do you say to all this--shall we go and sleep on it?"
The two boys caught hands and gazed hard at Ned's father, who was alsosilent for a few moments, before he drew a deep breath and said firmly--
"Yes, Lee, old friend, I say let us go to rest now, think deeply, and aswe should, over what may mean success or failure, and decide in themorning what we ought to do."
"Shout, boys," cried Griggs, springing up. "Not one of your Englishhoo-roars, but a regular tiger--_ragh_--_ragh_--_ragh_! That's yoursort. They mean to go."
"Yes, Griggs, old neighbour," said the doctor; "in spite of all theterrible obstacles I can see plainly in our path, I feel that to-morrowmorning my friend and I will have made up our minds that this is toogreat a thing to give up easily, and that we shall decide to go."
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